Allendale, Mich. - The Grand Valley State softball team closed off the regular season on Sunday (Apr. 27) in Allendale, earning a split against Saginaw Valley State. GVSU scored three unanswered runs to take game one by a 3-2 score, but SVSU pulled the same trick in game two, winning 6-5 on a walk-off base hit.

Heading into Sunday, there were five GLIAC teams with five conference losses - Grand Valley State and Saginaw Valley State were two of those schools. After the twinbill split, GVSU is 27-10 on the season and 16-6 in GLIAC play, while SVSU is 26-9 overall and 18-6 in league action.

The Lakers will head back to Findlay, Ohio - where the team swept a pair of games on Saturday night - for the 2014 GLIAC Tournament this weekend (May 2-4). Game times and opponents for the tournament will be released on Monday (Apr. 28).

In game one, the Cardinals took a 2-0 lead in the third inning with runs coming on a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly. Grand Valley State responded in the fourth inning. Senior Briauna Taylor led off with a sharp single up the middle, which was followed by a mammoth two-run homer to right center off the bat of senior Miranda Cleary, tying the score at 2-2.

The roundtripper was the 10th of the season for Cleary and the 47th of her career, breaking a tie with former Laker great Kim Biskup for second-place in GVSU history. In fact, the top three home run hitters in GLIAC history are all Grand Valley State players: Katie Martin (59 from 2010-13), Cleary (47 from 2011-14), and Biskup (46, 1997-2000).

GVSU plated the go-ahead run in the fifth inning with some help from the Cardinals. Sophomore Chelsea Horvathand senior Brittany Taylor started things off with back-to-back singles. Freshman Jenna Lenza walked to load the bases with nobody out. Classmate Kelsey Dominguez hit a groundball to the SVSU shortstop, who fired home. As Horvath was sliding into the plate, the Cardinal catcher was unable to hold onto the ball, allowing Horvath to be safe and put the Lakers ahead, 3-2. Saginaw Valley State got out of the jam with no further damage, but GVSU had its first lead.

That would be enough run support for Laker starter Sara Andrasik. She retired 14 of the final 15 batters she faced, including striking out the side in the fourth inning. Andrasik moved to 11-6 on the year by tossing a complete-game four-hitter. She gave up two runs, walked only one batter, and struck out eight Cardinals.

No Laker had more than one hit or one run, as six GVSU players registered a hit. Cleary collected a pair of ribbies on her homer, the team's lone extra-base hit.

Game two was scoreless until the Lakers plated two runs in the third inning. Cleary knocked in another RBI with a fielder's choice and sophomore McKenze Supernaw tallied a run-scoring infield single for the 2-0 cushion.

Saginaw Valley State cut the deficit to 2-1 before GVSU scored two more runs in the fourth frame. Brittany Taylor led off with a single to left field, moved to second on a passed ball, and came home on an RBI double from Lenza. It was Cleary coming through again with an RBI double to left center, easily scoring Lenza for the 4-1 advantage.

In the bottom of the fourth, the Cardinals put two runs on the board to make it a 4-3 game. Grand Valley State added a run in the sixth, when Supernaw ripped a two-out single off the third baseman's glove, scoring Briauna Taylor, who was hit by a pitch.

SVSU finally tied the score up in the bottom of the sixth inning, scoring on a wild pitch and an RBI groundout. The Lakers put a pair of runners on base in the seventh, but the rally ended when Briauna Taylor's flyball was caught just in front of the left field fence.

The Cardinals ended the contest in the bottom of the seventh. With two outs and two on, Amanda Kimes found the gap with a double to right center field, scoring the game-winning run.

Junior Sarah Wyse, who had picked up wins on both Friday and Saturday of the weekend trip, took the loss and dropped to 3-1. She allowed 10 hits and four runs in 5.2 innings in the circle. Wyse walked two and fanned three.

Cleary and Supernaw were each 3-for-4 with a pair of RBI, while Horvath went 2-for-4. Lenza scored twice and notched a double.